News Room

Mr Joseph Mullinix, Deputy President (Administration), NUS,
Associate Professor Tan Ern Ser, Vice-Dean of Students, NUS,
Distinguished Guests,
Teachers,
Students,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1.      Good afternoon. I am delighted to join you today at the Grand Finals of the Chancellor’s Challenge Shield 2010. First of all, let me congratulate all the students for their good performance in the previous rounds, especially the three teams that have made it to the Grand Finals this afternoon. I am very happy to see our youth taking a keen interest in current affairs, and hope that the knowledge gained would enable them to better appreciate the issues affecting this country. The Singapore of tomorrow will be shaped by the ideas contributed by the generation of today.

2.      At this platform, we hope to see the blossoming of many minds. In fact, the Chancellor’s Challenge Shield is one of the most established current affairs competitions in Singapore. It serves as an excellent forum for students in junior colleges and tertiary institutions to engage one another through friendly competition. This year, the competition has moved a step further by challenging students to apply themselves to a thematic problem in our daily lives. The Government’s Concept Plan 2011 seeks to peer decades ahead, and to shape the landscape of tomorrow’s Singapore. And we should involve all Singaporeans who have a stake in the future, including the students of today. I certainly look forward to reviewing the proposals put forward by the various teams.  

3.      For a small country like Singapore, with land at a premium, good planning is a must. We not only plan to meet our immediate needs, but also to accommodate future growth. This is so that we can provide continued opportunities and a good living environment for our future generations. How do we ensure that even as we develop, we will grow in a sustainable manner? How do we ensure that as we progress, we will have adequate housing, sufficient greenery and park spaces, a smooth transport network, enough schools, ports, airports, offices? These are some of the critical planning issues we have to address.

4.      We do this, because we seek ultimately to strive for the best quality of life for all Singaporeans, and to make Singapore the best home for each of us. We want to think far ahead, and visualize how we wish this country of ours to progress.  

5.      Let me briefly share with you four specific issues we are keeping in mind for Concept Plan 2011. First, we consider how land use can be optimised such that we can improve the quality of life for different segments of our population, who have varied lifestyles and aspirations. Next, we take into account the changing demographic profile of Singapore and plan according to the needs of an ageing population.  

6.      The third issue is globalisation and the heightened need to enhance the sense of identity and belonging to Singapore. In striving to make Singapore a special place for our people, this may mean that there is a need to strike a balance between the redevelopment and conservation of significant buildings and places that we hold dear to our hearts. Finally, faced with the critical challenge of climate change, another important concern is how to develop our city in a sustainable manner, be it in the construction of more energy-efficient buildings, or encouraging a greater use of public transport.

7.      The fact that we have limited land makes the challenges more complex. Hence, we need to find innovative ways to balance the different objectives of land-use planning. With such considerations in mind, the Economic Strategies Committee’s sub-committee on higher land productivity for future growth introduced some useful recommendations. I was involved in this Committee, which delivered its report recently. We deliberated long and hard on our long-term economic prospects.

8.      One suggestion is the creation of additional spaces by developing an underground master plan which will ensure that the development of surface and underground spaces complement each other. Another recommendation is the redevelopment of port land around Tanjong Pagar in future to create a new waterfront district for business, recreation and residences.

9.      But the Government will not have all the answers. We need to tap on the ideas of various sectors in society. We will also engage our international partners in an on-going dialogue to identify best practices and solutions to the common urban challenges of our times.

10.      As some of you may be aware, Singapore is hosting the second World Cities Summit from June 28 this year with the theme, “Liveable and Sustainable Cities for the Future”. Mayors and leaders from cities around the world, such as Incheon in South Korea, Freiburg in Germany, Florence in Italy, plus many others, will join Singapore officials and other delegates at this Summit, and share with us their expertise and knowledge in sustainable development and governance. It promises to be an engaging and enriching event, and I would urge those of you who are keen on urban issues to take your interest a notch higher by following the discussions at the World Cities Summit in June.

11.      Before I conclude, let me commend the NUS Students’ Political Association for creating the opportunity for students to play a meaningful role in shaping Singapore’s development, as well as student participants and their teachers for their passion and hard work. I am also happy to note that stakeholders in the public and private sector have worked together to ensure the success of the competition.